Old City Yemeni restaurant Malooga is expanding to Narberth this fall

Malooga — a Yemeni restaurant in Old City — is opening a second location, in Narberth, this fall, offering lunch and dinner service, a bakery, and expanded space for groups and outdoor dining.

Malooga describes itself as “a bold vision to bring authentic Yemeni cuisine to a broader audience.” Since 2021, chef Mohammed Aqlan has been cooking up Yemeni — and some Saudi — favorites, including falafel, shish taouk (grilled chicken skewers), kibdah (lamb liver), stuffed grape leaves, and baba ghanouj out of the restaurant’s Old City kitchen.

Aqlan grew up in Taiz, Yemen, where he developed a love for cooking after watching hours and hours of cooking shows, he told Al-Bustan News last year. Though he moved to the United States in 2014 to study aviation, the pressures of being an international student weighed him down. After he spent time in a cousin’s restaurant in Boston and sold meals from his home in New York, the idea to open a restaurant began to percolate.

In 2021, Malooga was born.

Omar Alkahily, Aqlan’s business partner and Malooga’s CEO, said the restaurant’s aim is to “create authentic food from home” while “giving people the high experience when it comes to standards of service.”

The chef has a rule, Alkahily said: “We either make it authentically, or we do not make it.”

Malooga’s menu features small dips and appetizers, like yogurt cucumber salad and lentil soup, as well as larger platters like chicken kabsah, the national dish of Saudi Arabia. Diners can order Saudi coffee, Yemeni chai, yogurt drinks, and desserts like masoob, a Yemeni banana pudding, and kunafa, a stuffed dough soaked with homemade syrup.

Alkahily said Malooga serves both a loyal cadre of regulars and a revolving door of Philadelphia visitors, some who are trying Yemeni food for the first time.

“Part of what’s exciting for us is meeting people that have no idea what this is,” Alkahily said.

With four successful years under its belt, the Malooga team is ready to expand.

Why Narberth?

For one, Alkahily said, “The Main Line is alive.” The suburban corridor’s restaurant scene is ever-growing, as is its residents’ demand for high-quality dining options.

Alkahily described Narberth as “what you want the world to be like — small, warm.”

Before Malooga decided on Narberth, Alkahily spent time wandering around the borough, popping into its mom-and-pop shops and restaurants. Everywhere he went, he said, people were friendly and engaged, eager to hear about the possibility of a new Yemeni restaurant in town.

“We’re building, with that community, a future that maintains that feeling of warmth,” he said.

Malooga is partially financing its expansion through Honeycomb, a crowdfunding platform for small businesses. The restaurant has raised over $80,000 from 32 investors, surpassing its initial $60,000 goal. They now hope to crowdfund $100,000.

Alkahily said the crowdfunding was a “small nod to the community.” While taking out a loan would have been easier and less expensive, Malooga wanted to offer Narberth and the rest of the Main Line an “opportunity for people to own part” of the restaurant.

“This is yours,” he said. “You invested in this.”

Malooga’s new location will have expanded indoor and outdoor seating, including Moroccan-style floor tables. In addition to lunch and dinner service, the restaurant will have a bakery complete with a brick oven, where its chefs will be able to serve Yemeni pastries and breakfast foods.

Opening a second, larger location won’t be easy. The Malooga team will have to adjust to a suburban market, where there’s less foot traffic, a different clientele, and fewer experienced cooks to hire, Alkahily said.

But Narbeth’s downtown corridor is vibrant, and in the post-COVID era, Malooga’s team believes people are craving in-person culinary experiences.

“It’s a bet we’re taking,” he said.

Malooga’s Narberth restaurant will be located at 203 Haverford Ave.